Lesson from France - The Bloody Extermination of the Cathars at Béziers - "Kill them all for the Lord knoweth them that are His!"

Slideshow code developed in collaboration with ChatGPT3 at https://chat.openai.com/

Kill them all for the Lord knoweth them that are His!

Abbot Arnaud Amalric of Citeaux
Papal legate in charge of the Cathar genocide.
Citing 2 Timothy 2:19

Burning the Cathars at Béziers

Another reminder of the brutal, blood-soaked history of Christianity is to be found in the history of the French town of Béziers on the banks of the River Orb, in the Languedoc region, southeast of Montpellier, on the edge of the Camargue.

It has been, in turn, along with much of the area south of Toulouse, under the control of Greeks, Romans, Visigoths, Moorish Moslems from Andalucia, Catholic Spain and latterly, Catholic France. Until recent times, the local language was a dialect of French, Occitan, which has close links with Catalan. This gave it a sense of a separate identity from that of France - something that concerned King Philip II, keen to exert the same control over the southern provinces as he had over the North.

Béziers is now a peaceful, quite little market town and cultural centre but it was not always so. It was, until 1209, a stronghold of the Cathars, a religious sect which rejected Roman Catholicism and the authority of the Pope, which was brutally suppressed in the 'Albigensian Crusade' on the orders of Pope Innocent III in alliance with King Philip II of France.

For more information on the Albigensian Crusade and Pope Innocent III's and King Philip II of France's reasons for launching it, see:

1. Lesson from France - Massacre of the Cathars of Carcassonne, or How Christians Settled Theological Differences
2. Feel That Christian Love!
3. Brotherly Love - How Christians Settle Disputes

Fresh from their success in laying siege to and then massacring the inhabitants of the Carcassonne, the crusaders moved on to other towns in the area, including Béziers.

The Siege of Béziers was a pivotal and infamous event during the Albigensian Crusade in 1209. Béziers was a prosperous city in the Languedoc region of southern France, known for its large Cathar population and sympathizers. The Catholic crusaders, led by Simon de Montfort and under the authority of Pope Innocent III, sought to capture the city and eliminate the Cathar heresy. Here's a detailed account of the Siege of Béziers:

1. Background:
   In 1208, the Pope had declared a formal crusade against the Cathars, labeling them as heretics. Simon de Montfort was appointed as the leader of the crusade, and he began his campaign to subdue the Cathar stronghold of Béziers, which was one of the major centers of Catharism in the Languedoc.
2. The Siege:
   The siege of Béziers began in July 1209, with the crusaders encircling the city and launching a sustained assault. The city's defenses were formidable, but the large number of defenders and civilians within the walls put a strain on the limited resources and water supply.
3. The Surrender Offer:
   As the siege continued, the crusaders called for the city to surrender and offered terms to spare the lives of the inhabitants. The response from the city's leaders was a refusal to hand over the Cathars within their walls, stating they would not betray their own people.
4. The Massacre:
   On July 22, 1209, the crusaders breached the city's defenses and stormed Béziers. The situation quickly descended into chaos and violence. According to historical accounts, the crusaders unleashed a brutal assault on the city, sparing no one in the process. Many sources report that when asked how to distinguish the Cathars from the Catholics, the papal legate Arnaud Amalric is famously quoted as saying, "Kill them all, God will know His own." The result was a bloodbath, with thousands of people slaughtered, regardless of their religious affiliation.
5. Consequences: The fall of Béziers had a profound impact on the course of the Albigensian Crusade. It sent a powerful message to other towns and cities in the region, leading many to surrender without a fight to avoid a similar fate. The massacre at Béziers also instilled fear and terror in the hearts of those who resisted the crusaders, furthering the Catholic Church's agenda to suppress the Cathar heresy.

References:

1. Pegg, Mark Gregory. "A Most Holy War: The Albigensian Crusade and the Battle for Christendom." Oxford University Press, 2008.
2. Sibly, W.A., and M.D. Sibly. "The Chronicle of William of Puylaurens: The Albigensian Crusade and its Aftermath." Boydell Press, 2003.

These references provide in-depth historical accounts of the Siege of Béziers and the broader context of the Albigensian Crusade, offering insights into the events and motivations of the time.

ChatGPT3 "Tell me all about the Siege of Bezier in the Albigensian Crusade." [Response to user request] Retrieved from https://chat.openai.com/

The account of the end of the siege and the atrocities that followed should make grim reading for any Christians who think they have a history of peace to be proud of:

On 22 July, the Crusaders were busy getting settled and still days away from starting the siege proper. It was to the Crusaders' advantage to take the city quickly. Delay would give Raymond Roger time to organize his defenses and increase the likelihood that the army would run out of supplies or drift apart. The day began quietly on both sides.^[18] That morning, a group of either soldiers or perhaps merely armed civilians from the town made a sortie exiting the gate overlooking the river Orb.^[18] According to William of Tudela, their intention was to humiliate the Crusaders. He writes:

Ah, it was an ill service that man did the townsfolk who counseled them to go forth from the city in broad daylight! For mark well what these wretched creatures did, in their vast ignorance and folly: out they went, waving their coarse, white linen banners, shouting at the tops of their voices, and thinking to scare the enemy thus, as one might scare birds on a wheatfield-bawling and hallooing, and waving their flags, and all this at crack of dawn, as soon as it was light.^[19]

As the detachment from Béziers shouted insults at the Crusaders, a man from the Crusading army approached them intending to respond to the insults. He was killed. In response, hired mercenaries from the Crusader army known as routiers attacked the defenders. A brawl ensued and soon the attackers from the town found themselves outnumbered and retreated in disarray. According to historian Zoe Oldenbourg, some of the routiers were likely able to enter the town through the open gate before it could be closed, and then fought with the guards stationed at the wall for control of the gate. Seeing the brawl, the Crusader leaders decided to send the entire army forward. The garrison resisted attack before being overwhelmed by the larger Crusader army, while other Crusaders had already managed to move beyond the garrison and into the town.^[20]

The routiers rampaged through the streets. They invaded private homes, killing and plundering. Clergy vested and rang church bells, but were unable to prevent the soldiers from rampaging. Those citizens who could run sought refuge in the churches – Béziers Cathedral and the churches of St Mary Magdalene and of St Jude. Yet the churches did not provide safety against the invaders. The doors of the churches were broken open, and all inside, regardless of age and sex, and including priests, were slaughtered.^[21][22].

Although the knights did not stop the massacre, they soon intervened to claim the valuables of the city for themselves. In retaliation, the angry and disappointed routiers burned down buildings, destroying most of the plunder, and the Crusaders were quickly forced to leave the ruined town.

In his report to Pope Innocent III, in August 1209, Abbot Arnaud Amalric boasted:

Indeed, because there is no strength nor is there cunning against God, while discussions were still going on with the barons about the release of those in the city who were deemed to be Catholics, the servants and other persons of low rank and unarmed attacked the city without waiting for orders from their leaders. To our amazement, crying "to arms, to arms!", within the space of two or three hours they crossed the ditches and the walls and Béziers was taken. Our men spared no one, irrespective of rank, sex or age, and put to the sword almost 20,000 people. After this great slaughter the whole city was despoiled and burnt, as divine vengeance miraculously raged against it.

And so, with brutality, threats and terror, Catholicism was forced onto the Occitan-speaking people of the Languedoc region of southern France and any hope of a separate identity, even one co-existing within the French state, was extinguished, and all in the name of Jesus' and to the glory of God.

A perfect illustration of Christianity espousing peace and love whilst fomenting war and hate in pursuit of political power. And an illustration too of how religion is used for the excuses it provides to people who need excuses.

---

Thank you for sharing!

Tweet Link